NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.44 Per Share

NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 22nd,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.44 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This is an increase from NRG Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41.

NRG Energy has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.8% annually over the last three years. NRG Energy has a payout ratio of 20.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect NRG Energy to earn $7.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.63 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.6%.

NRG Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

NRG traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $110.45. 3,558,620 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,261,851. NRG Energy has a one year low of $51.26 and a one year high of $115.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.57, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $96.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.08. The company has a market cap of $22.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NRG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on NRG Energy from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of NRG Energy from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of NRG Energy from $84.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim upped their target price on NRG Energy from $77.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded NRG Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $126.00 in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NRG Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NRG Energy news, VP Robert J. Gaudette sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.41, for a total value of $5,484,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 64,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,191.68. This trade represents a 48.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bruce Chung sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.63, for a total transaction of $1,952,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,780,794.02. The trade was a 22.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About NRG Energy

NRG Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy and home services company in the United States and Canada. It operates through Texas; East; West/Services/Other; Vivint Smart Home; and Corporate Activities segments. The company produces and sells electricity generated using coal, oil, solar, and battery storage; natural gas; and a cloud-based home platform, including hardware, software, sales, installation, customer service, technical support, and professional monitoring solutions.